Myers tries to stay perfect today

Raiders tight end Brandon Myers is expected to play today after sustaining a concussion last week. He has 15 catches on 15 targets — no one else with 10 or more catches is perfect this season. He is tied for fifth among all tight ends in catches and is third in yards with 206.

Not bad for a guy everybody wanted to dump in favor of Chris Cooley or Kellen Winslow Jr.

Here is offensive coordinator Greg Knapp on the benefit of getting Myers and the other tight ends involved early and often:

“It makes the defense have to cover, in my opinion, the width of the field along with the vertical part of the field,” Knapp said. “Having the ability, with what Brandon [Myers] has done inside the numbers, and create windows really puts stress on the linebacker so they can’t get underneath the receivers as much, they’ve got to now be more careful with their drops, and be aware of the tight ends.”

Knapp said he knew right away when he came in this year that Myers was going to be a big part of the offense:

“What I watched on tape last year reminded me of some guys in the past that I’ve had that maybe weren’t elite status tight ends coming out of college as far as high-end draft picks and athletic ability,” Knapp said. “He had a knack to run routes and to create windows. With the play-pass that we do and some of the stuff that we ask for on third downs out of our tight ends that might have been different than what he had before here, he’s been able to take advantage of those. Because that’s what his strength is, his route running and creating windows for himself.”

And as Carson Palmer has said, Myers has great hands.

“He’s got unbelievable hands,” Palmer said. “He’s kind of a sleeper. He’s probably got the best hands on the team. He makes diving catches, one-handed catches, you don’t ever see him drop anything. His hands are very reliable. He really understands the game. He knows how to set up routes, he knows how to get open in zones. He knows how to set up man routes.

“He’s just really a solid all-around player. And he can block too. A lot of times you get a guy that’s really good at one thing and struggles in the other. Brandon’s really balanced in the passing and running game.”